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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25038199">pouring water</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/emersonwrites/pseuds/emersonwrites'>emersonwrites</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sally Face (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death, Gen, Ghost Sal, Sally Face Drowned AU, credit for AU idea goes to @bonebundles on tiktok, rated mature for the character death just to be safe, takes place during episode 4, trigger warnings in the notes!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 09:14:02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,633</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25038199</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/emersonwrites/pseuds/emersonwrites</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
      <p>okay first and foremost, thank you @bonebundles on tiktok for making this AU in the first place, and for giving me the green light to write a drabble about it! PLEASE go check out his content, it's next-level incredible!</p>
<p>obviously based on the tags, you can see there will be a character death in this fic, so TRIGGER WARNING as i do go into some detail describing the feeling of drowning, choking, and death (or at least what i imagine i would be like).</p>
<p>might keep this going, we'll see! i hope you enjoy!</p>
    </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>pouring water</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>okay first and foremost, thank you @bonebundles on tiktok for making this AU in the first place, and for giving me the green light to write a drabble about it! PLEASE go check out his content, it's next-level incredible!</p>
<p>obviously based on the tags, you can see there will be a character death in this fic, so TRIGGER WARNING as i do go into some detail describing the feeling of drowning, choking, and death (or at least what i imagine i would be like).</p>
<p>might keep this going, we'll see! i hope you enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sal should have listened to his gut.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Each step closer to Addison Apartments grew harder to take as dread filled the space in his lungs. He glanced over to Larry, hoping to find that lazy, unbothered grin he so often wore. Instead, his friend’s brow was furrowed, his lips pressed into a thin line as they drew closer to the apartments.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That alone should have been enough of a sign. Sal should have stopped then and there, grabbed Larry by the arm, and dragged him as far from that building as they could get. Out of Nockfell, if that’s what it took to escape this oppressing weight on his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>So why did his feet keep carrying him forward? Some force he couldn’t describe, could hardly even pin down, compelled him to keep marching towards Addison Apartments. It wriggled under his skin, just barely there but enough to make him shiver as the building came into view. His instincts screamed at him to run, yet he pushed on anyway.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He should have listened.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“There has to be </span>
  <em>
    <span>something</span>
  </em>
  <span> down here,” Larry grumbled, arms crossed tight as he scanned around the temple. “We just gotta keep looking.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sal crouched down, peering at something that turned out to just be some debris from a nearby podium as it crumbled away. He rose with a sigh, dusting his hands off on his jeans. “I don’t know, Larry,” he muttered, “maybe we’re off-base here. We haven’t found anything weird.” Those words tasted sour even as he spoke them.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You mean apart from the ghosts all being gone?” Larry reminded him. He huffed, throwing his hands up in the air. “This can’t just be nothing. You said yourself that you’re feeling freaked out, too! You don’t think it’s a little strange that we’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>both</span>
  </em>
  <span> feeling the same thing?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I mean, sure,” Sal replied, scratching his wrist idly. “But there’s nothing here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He wished there had been something. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Anything</span>
  </em>
  <span> to explain the way his stomach roiled and knotted the longer he stayed here, how his heart beat just a little too fast and he couldn’t quite stand still. He would have settled for a discarded gum wrapper if that’s what it took to prove the unease he felt was justified.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But there was nothing out of place here. Which either meant the cult was </span>
  <em>
    <span>very</span>
  </em>
  <span> good at covering their tracks, or there were no tracks to cover in the first place. Both options were unsettling for different reasons and Sal wasn’t sure which one he preferred. He crossed his arms, one hand reaching up to run a finger through the ends of his hair as he wracked his brain for an explanation. His stare was fixed on the floor, eyes losing focus for a moment. He was vaguely aware of Larry wandering towards the main gate again. His soft footfalls gave Sal some comfort, knowing he wasn’t alone in this horrid place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Larry’s footsteps suddenly grew louder, as if he were running. Sal’s gaze snapped up to his friend, his mouth opening to ask what was wrong.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>But Larry hadn’t moved. He stood as still as the pillar beside him, eyes wide with fear. And still the footsteps grew louder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In a second, Sal realized they were no longer alone. He had just enough time to feel terror rip its way through his gut before a figure appeared behind Larry, lunging from the shadows to wrap a pale arm across his chest.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sal tried to run towards him. Two strong hands grabbed him by the shoulders, pulling him backwards instead. He felt an arm snake over his throat and hold him in place. He heard Larry shout his name. It was the last thing he heard before blinding pain bloomed across the back of his skull and his world went black.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Frigid, stabbing cold surrounded his entire body. A heavy weight pressed on his collarbone. His lungs were filled with lit gasoline--they must have been, for how badly they burned in his chest. He took in a breath and the fire flared.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sal’s eyes flew open, his vision swirling, shapes and colors distorting. He could just barely make out the shape of a person over him, their arms pinning him down. A fluorescent light blinked behind them and cast shadows over their hooded face. Every inch of Sal’s body ached as thousands of pins drove into his skin, sending violent shivers through his arms and up his spine. His sluggish mind finally caught up with him and horror gripped his heart: it was water. This person was holding him underwater.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was drowning.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Instinct took over. Sal surged up in a burst of adrenaline. He managed to break the surface and coughed, painful and wet and desperate for air. Piercing cold hit his face and he absently realized his prosthetic was gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The person above him dug their fingers into his shoulders and shoved him down again, back under the water. Sal couldn’t stop coughing, but now each inhale brought more water into his lungs. He thrashed, blind panic wiping his mind of any thoughts other than escaping. Another set of hands pinned down his legs. His chest rapidly filled with each strangled cough. It hurt like nothing he’d ever felt in his life.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He stopped choking just long enough to scream.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The line between life and death is easier for some to find than others. Plenty of ghosts open their eyes for the first time unaware they’ve ever died at all.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>For Sal, when he finally woke, curled on his side in that grimy bathtub, it took him a moment to notice something was different.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He sat up with a groan, noticing his chest felt heavier than before he’d passed out. His mind stayed on that thought for a moment. When had he passed out? And for that matter, why? The entire past day was out of focus, events jumbled out of order. The only thing he was certain of was that he’d seen Larry earlier, and he’d seemed troubled. Sal stood on shaky legs and brought his face into his hands, trying to dull the pounding behind his eyes. He flinched when his fingers met scarred skin.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Where was his prosthetic?</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A memory flashed through his mind of strong hands forcing him down into sharp, paralyzing cold. The vision sent him into a coughing fit, staggering back as water sputtered from his mouth and soaked the front of his shirt. Clamping a hand over his mouth as more water rushed up his throat, Sal tried to step over the edge of the tub. A force he couldn’t see kept his foot from touching the floor.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another flashbulb memory, this time of searing pain in his lungs, played behind his eyes. His hands trembled as he tried in vain to head for the door, still cemented in place in the bathtub. Water dribbled from his mouth and, strangely, began to drip from the sink too. He glanced over and caught sight of his hair in the medicine cabinet mirror. Craning his neck, he leaned as far as he could until his face was also in view.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He was impossibly pale and blotchy, his lips tinged blue. Veins spiderwebbed their way across his neck and face, the sight sending his stomach to the floor. His good eye was as glassy and lifeless as his false eye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sal had seen enough ghosts to recognize when he saw one.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The rest of the pieces fell into place all at once, the gaps in his memory filling themselves in as his legs gave out from under him. Images of a figure looming over him, swirled by the water he was trapped under, played in his mind as his dead heart still somehow thundered in his chest. The room around him seemed to respond to his rising panic, more water beginning to pour from the sink and the tub, even dripping from the showerhead above him. It only fed his hysteria, but when he tried to cry out, his voice was muffled by more water rushing to fill his mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Water kept on flooding the room. It poured from the faucets. It dripped from his lips. It fell from his eyes.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>It was all so cold.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Ash couldn’t find him anywhere.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>When she’d arrived at Sal’s place, she hadn’t expected Todd to be the one to answer the door. She was even more surprised that he hadn’t heard from Sal in hours, not since he had texted him about meeting up with Larry at the apartments. When another half hour of missed calls and unanswered texts passed, Todd and Ash exchanged worried glances and decided to head to the apartments themselves to investigate.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The two of them started at Sal’s old apartment, with no luck. Henry and Lisa mentioned having seen the boys earlier that evening, though Ash couldn’t help but notice how...off they seemed. Lisa’s eyes stared directly at her but held no focus, as if she were gazing at something only she could see. It sent a chill up Ashley’s spine that lingered after they left.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Next, they tried Larry’s place, finding it empty. They checked with Chug but walked away empty-handed and concerned by how scatterbrained their friend had been. Ashley could see worry creasing Todd’s brow despite his efforts to hide it when she glanced his way.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She couldn't blame him, though. Every person they ran into was acting strange, and Sal and Larry were nowhere to be seen. At this point, their phones were going straight to voicemail. Larry, she could maybe understand, but Sal? He wasn’t the type to ignore her or Todd like this, especially for this long. This smelled of something rotten and it was making her sick to her stomach.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>After pounding on Terrence Addison’s door and being left with no reply, the two knew this went beyond suspicions or paranoia--something was truly wrong. They headed to the basement, pausing in front of the elevator doors for a moment. “We should check the temple,” Ash suggested, even if the very thought of going down that hatch made bile creep up her throat.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Probably a wise choice,” Todd muttered, eyes narrowed in thought. His gaze flitted to her for a moment. “I want to check the treehouse before we do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ash nodded. “Good idea. You go check there, I can take a look around the empty apartment down here before we head to the temple.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todd grimaced a little. “I don’t think it's the best choice for us to split up right now,” he said as he brought a hand to his lips, his eyes downcast. “I can’t quite place it, but something feels…” He let out a frustrated sigh. “Wrong.” He caught her eye again. “I know you feel it too.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, I do,” she admitted, rubbing at her arm. She did her best to put on a reassuring smirk for Todd, anything to lift the weight she felt pressing on them the longer they stayed in this building. “But I’ll be fine, Todd. Besides, we’re burning daylight here. I won’t go down the hatch without you, scout’s honor.” She raised her right hand for emphasis.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He hesitated, but after a moment Todd nodded his head. “I’ll call you if I find anything, you do the same,” he said as he turned his body towards Larry’s apartment.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ash reached out and took his hand in hers, giving it a squeeze. “I will. I’ll see you in a few.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Todd gripped her hand in return, offering her a small smile. Then he turned his back and jogged down the hall, disappearing through the door a moment later.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ash took in a steadying breath and approached the other apartment, her hand lingering on the doorknob for a moment. Dread formed a hard pit in her stomach and cemented her in place for a moment. There was something behind this door, something she was going to regret finding. Somehow, she was sure of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She brushed aside the feeling with a quick shake of her head. If there was something in that temple causing all the unrest in the building, that was all the more reason for her to go after it. Swallowing down her nerves, Ash opened the door and stepped inside. She was met with stale air and dust glittering in the dull light. And, strangest of all, the sound of running water. Her head swung towards the bathroom to find the carpet before the door damp, the dark spot spreading slowly but steadily.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>In the back of her mind, she thought of calling Todd, or at least waiting for him to come back from the treehouse before checking this out. But her feet carried forward anyway. She didn’t pull out her phone. Her shoes squelched in the soaked carpet as she approached the bathroom. A dozen possibilities of what lay behind that door cycled through her mind and none of them quelled the fear coursing through her. She should really wait for Todd.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She opened the door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A tiny wave of water sloshed out of the room. Ashley jumped back, trying to avoid drenching her shoes, and glanced up into the room. The sink was overflowing and spilled freely onto the floor. The bath and showerhead were pouring as well, raining into an empty tub. There was no one there.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That baffled her. Who would leave faucets running in an abandoned apartment like this? Ash took a cautious step into the room, her eyes flitting around the room for anything else out of place.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Suddenly, the faucets seemed to turn up even higher, groaning as the pipes strained against the force of the water rushing through them. Ash flinched and reached for the sink taps to close them, then jolted back when she realized they were already off. Her hands trembled and her throat closed in fright. “What the hell?” she murmured, reaching for her phone to call Todd.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She stopped short as the lights flickered. Something in the corner of her vision, in the bathtub, caught her attention. Ash glanced over despite all her instincts telling her to bolt. A figure morphed into view, a mangled pile of flesh and muscle that quickly shifted into the shape of a slender man kneeling in the tub, hunched over. His shirt clung to his skin and his entire body was wracked with shivers as he coughed into his hand, the sound wet and painful. Water fell from the showerhead and matted his hair, falling through it in rivulets.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>His bright blue hair.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ashley stood frozen, her heart pounding in her throat. Even though she knew it was impossible, even though she couldn’t explain any of this in a way that would make sense, the word left her lips before she had a chance to stop it: “Sal?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Slowly, the man’s head lifted until their eyes finally met. His face was marred with scars, his cyan hair clung to the crevices. His eyes were milky and distant but still seemed to pierce through her. Water gushed from his mouth as he struggled to speak, a single word making it past the flood: “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ash.</span>
  </em>
  <span>”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Ice coursed through her veins. She’d recognize that voice anywhere. But before she could even take in a breath to respond, his body caved in on itself again, reducing into that fleshy pulp with what sounded like a distant groan.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Then Sal Fisher was gone.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And just as Ash found it within her to scream, the entire building shook as if the ground beneath it had split open, ready to swallow them all down. For just a moment, staring at the spot where Sal had just been, Ash couldn’t bring herself to care if the earth gobbled her up whole.</span>
</p>
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